Nitrogen-fixing obligate endophyte. Azoarcus olearius strain:BH72

Azoarcus.sp. BH72 . This organism is a nitrogen-fixing obligate endophyte first isolated from the roots of Kaller grass in the Punjab region of Pakistan. These organisms are never found in root-free soil and colonize root tissues without causing disease. This strain has been shown to express genes involved in nitrogen fixation in root tissue and is thought to provide significant amounts of nitrogen to its host plant. Azoarcus.sp. BH72 is being used to study the mechanisms and regulation of microbe-plant interactions and for comparative studies with other pathogenic and nonpathogenic plant bacteria.